Musical instrument keyboard construction

ABSTRACT

A musical instrument keyboard includes a wood key bed and a pivot-spacer member for receiving a plurality of keys. The pivotspacer member has upwardly extending spacer posts for confining the key sticks in a supported position so that transverse forces on the keys, tending to cause a torque to be exerted thereon, will not affect the normal position of the keys. The forward end of each key stick cooperates with side tabs of the associated key cap to form a channel for a guide bushing supported on the key bed, which limits lateral and up and down movement of the keys.

United States Patent [191 Allen et al. Mar. 27, 1973 [5 MUSICALINSTRUMENT KEYBOARD 2,764,907 10/1956 Link 84/434 CONSTRUCTION 3,110,21l11/ 1963 Elbrecht 3,447,414 6 1969 LoDu ..8 6 Inventorsl Irving Allen,Westbrook; Edward T 3,417,649 12i196s ..84/433 George, Hamden; Albert W.Nordquist, Ivoryton, an of Coml- Pn'mary ExaminerRichard B. WilkinsonAssistant Examiner-John F. Gonzales 73 As e.Prtt-RdC rah I 1 s lgne 2 eaorpo voryton Att0meyMueller and Alchele [22] Filed: Dec. 2, 1970 [57]ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 94,288 A musical instrument keyboard includes awood key bed and a pivot-spacer member for receiving a plurali- [52] U SCl 84/423 84/434 ty of keys. The pivot-spacer member has upwardly ex-[511 In} .0 Gioc 3/12 tending Spacer posts for confining the y sticks ina 58] Fie'ld 433436 supported position so that transverse forces on the84/430 keys, tending to cause a torque to be exerted thereon, will notaffect the normal position of the keys. The forward end of each keystick cooperates with side [56] References Cited tabs of the associatedkey cap to form a channel for a guide bushing supported on the key bed,which limits UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 lateral and up and down movement ofthe keys.

,175,451 3/1965 Klann ..84/433 3,254,554 6/1966 Nordquist ..84/434 12Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU MR 2 7 I975 SHEET 1 BF 2 FIGE Ill

BY W 54% ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEDHARZYIQYS 2, 51

sum 2 0F 2 INVENTORS IRVING ALLEN EDWARD T. GEORGE ALBERT W. NORDQUISTATTORNEYS.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT KEYBOARD CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to musical instrument keyboards.

Musical instrument keyboards include a plurality of keys in parallelside-by-side arrangement which are pivotal about a point between theirends whenthe key is depressed and released. The point of pivotedmovement of each key generally is in longitudinal alignment with eachother key along the keyboard frame and means are provided for holdingthe keys in a fixed position with respect to the keyboard frame whilepermitting the keys freely to pivot when depressed and released. Suchmeans may include metal pins, or the like, driven into the rear portionof a wooden key bed and the pins are arranged to extend upwardly throughslots or holes formed in the bottom of the keys. Some type of bushing,such as felt cloth, is then used in the slot between the key and themetal pin to provide quiet operation of the key while also limitingforward and rearward movement of the key and to provide the proper touchquality to the musician playing the musical instrument having such akeyboard.

Such prior art constructions have certain disadvantages. For example,the metal balance pins used must be machined to a proper size, whichadds to the cost of manufacture, and then these pins must be driven intoa wooden key bed which, at times, splits or cracks necessitating repairor scrapping of the key bed. Moreover, as mentioned above, a bushing isrequired in addition to the balance pin further increasing the cost andcomplexity of such keyboard constructions.

While the disadvantages of the above-described keyboard are manifestlyconcerned with cost and complexity of manufacture, this type of keyboardhas acquired substantial acceptance by musicians because of the touchquality ofthe keyboard. Therefore, when designing keyboards for reducingmanufacturing costs, many times the changes made affect the touch"quality substantially so that the resultant keyboard is unacceptable.

Another problem with musical instrument keyboards of the prior art isthat under certain playing conditions the keys may tend to rotate abouttheir longitudinal axes because of the key pivot and supportarrangements heretofore used. This is particularly true when playingupon the keyboard in a glissando fashion, i.e. dragging the fingers overthe keysfrom bass to treble, or vice versa.

SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION I Accordingly, it is an object of this inventionto provide improved musical instrument keyboard assemblies which havesubstantially the same touch qualities as prior art assemblies, butwhich have substantially fewer components and are less costly tomanufacture and easier to assemble.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved musicalinstrument keyboard assemblies whereby transverse forces on the keys donot cause torsional movement of the keys during playing of the musicalinstrument as, for example, when playing in glissando fashion, i.e.dragging the fingers over the keys from bass to treble, or vice versa.

A further object of the invention is to provide a musical instrumentkeyboard including keys formed by a wood stick and a plastic coverpiece, wherein the wood stick and the plastic cover piece cooperate toprovide a channel cooperating with a guide secured to the key bed tolimit the lateral and updown movement of the keys.

Briefly, the keyboard construction of this invention includes a hardwoodframe structure or key bed including hardwood forward and rearward railsspaced apart in fixed relation to one another by a plurality of woodenslats. Secured to the forward rail is a comb-like member formed of ametal stamping, which has upwardly extending, rearwardly turned fingerguide members. Positioned on each of the guide members is a resilientguide. Each of the keys, i.e. the natural and sharp keys, are formed ofa key stick, preferably of wood, upon which is positioned a key cap, awhite cap for natural keys and a black raised cap for the sharp keys.However, it will be understood that the color of the, keys may vary asdesired. The caps have downwardly turned sidewall portions whichcooperate with the key sticks to form a channel which confines theresilient guides therein. The downwardly turned sidewall portions of'thekey caps may extend only a short longitudinal distance, just sufficientto form the guide channel or they may extend the entire longitudinallength of the key.

A pivot-spacer member, preferably of molded plastic, forming an integralunit of, for example, a length to receive one octave of keys, is securedto the rear rail of the hardwood key frame. In the illustratedembodiment, the rear rail of the key frame has an elongated slot formedtherein and the pivot-spacer member has a downward portion which fitsinto the slot and can be there held in place by adhesives, or the like.The spacers consist of upwardly extended portions which are positionedon each side of a key stick closely em bracing the same, and the upwardextent is at least onehalf the vertical height of the key stick toprevent even slight rotation thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view partial segmentof a keyboard constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational, partially sectional view of the keyboardof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view through a natural key cap used with thisinvention;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view through a sharp key cap used with thisinvention;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view with portions broken awayillustrating the relationship of the hardwood keyboard frame components;and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a portion of thepivot-spacer member for receiving and holding a key stick in accordancewith this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2,there is seen a key receiving frame or key bed, designated generally byreference numeral 10, including forward and rearward portions over whichis positioned a plurality of pianolike keys. A metal stamped guide 12,which has a comb-like configuration, is secured to the key receivingframe by screws 13, it being understood that such fastening can beaccomplished by any other suitable means. A pivot-spacer member 14 issecured to the key receiving frame at the rearward portion thereof forsecurely receiving and holding a plurality of key members, such keymembers being both natural keys l6 and sharp keys 18.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 5, the key receiving frame 10 is ofhardwood construction including a plurality of pieced together hardwoodcomponents securely fastened either by glue, wood screws or staples orany combination thereof. In the instant case the components are heldtogether by glue and staples. In the illustrated embodiment the keyreceiving frame 10 includes a forward rail member and a rearward railmember 22 which are held together by a plurality of hardwood slats 24extending therebetween and the slats also serve as spacers between therails 20 and 22. The forward rail 20 has a plurality of milled slots 20aaligned with corresponding milled slots 22a formed in the rear rail 22,and hardwood slats 24 are firmly secured within these aligned slots. Thehardwood components provide for a strong, lightweight support frame orkey bed which absorbs much of the undesired noise that may be generatedby the manipulation of the keys 16 and 18.

The front key guide 12 is best shown in FIG. 5. It may be formed as ametal stamping having a solid strip portion 26 from which extend aplurality of longitudinally aligned spaced apart guide fingers 28 whichhave their upper-most portions bent over rearwardly to face the rearrail 22. Although the guide fingers 28 appear to be at equally spacedapart locations, in fact they are not as the spacing between differentones thereof may vary slightly. An undercut 28a is formed at the bentover top end portions, and laterally extended projections are providedat the termination of the guide fingers. Positioned on each of the bentover portions is a resilient guidemember 30 which is held firmly inplace on the undercut portion 28a by the laterally extended projections28b. Only one of such resilient guides 30 is illustrated in FIG. 5, butit will be apparent that such a resilient guide is provided on eachguide finger. The notches or undercuts 28a in the fingers 28 aredesigned to coact within the opening through the resilient guides 30 toretain the resilient guide in a fixed position thereon without the useof cement. Therefore the width of the extended portions of the resilientguides can be increased without being rotated during manipulation of thekey.

The pivot-spacer 14 is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, and ispreferably made of molded plastic material so as to be of unitaryconstruction. However, the pivotspacer may be a metal stamping orfabrication as desired. A rib 32 forms the main support portion of thepivot-spacer 14 and has the bottom portion thereof inserted into amilled groove 34 within the rear rail 22. The rib 32, at spaced apartlocations thereon, forms pivot points at the upper edge thereof toreceive the piano-like keys 16 and 18, so that the keys rotate aboutthese pivot points when manipulated. A plurality of longitudinallyspaced apart, vertically extended spacers 36 are formed on the rib 32and extend upwardly a distance at least greater than half the height ofthe key sticks 16a and 18a to firmly confine the stick member andprevent relative rotation of the keys. The spacers 36 have a width ordimension in the direction of the keys which is greater than that of therib 32 which forms the pivot points. Each of the spacers 36 is taperedupwardly, front and back, in the order of 2, and tapered upwardly at itssides in the order of onequarter degree, to facilitate parting of theunit from its mold when such part is molded plastic.

Each of the keys l6 and 18 have associated therewith a key stick,preferably of laminated wood construction. FIG. 2 illustrates the keystick 18a and a sectional view of its associated sharp key 18. Here itcan be seen that the key stick 18a, like all other key sticks, has amilled groove 40 at its front end which forms upper and lower extendedportions 40a and 40b, respectively. The key is positioned with respectto the front guide 12 so that the portions 400 and 40b extend above andbelow the resilient guide member 30 of the guide 12. The upper and lowerportions 40a and 40b limit the extent of vertical travel of the key tothat point at which they engage the resilient guide member 30. The keystick 18a, as do all other key sticks, may have an actuating wire 42secured at the rear end thereof which is used in any one of severalconventional manners to actuate a switch mechanism to sound a musicalnote. Other actuating devices may be used in place of the wire 42. Forexample, metal or plastic clips may be used in place of the wire, or theswitch itself may have an actuating member which bears directly on thewood key. Also, a felt pad 43 may be positioned on the front rail justbeneath the forward end of the natural keys 16. This pad prevents thenatural keys 16 from making noise when depressed and prevents thenatural keys 16 from pivoting about the stop 30 which could otherwiseact as a fulcrum.

The sharp keys 18, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, are of molded plasticconstruction, having a crown portion 44 which is positioned well abovethe natural keys 16, in the usual manner. A support tab 46 extendsdownwardly from the inner wall of the crown 44 and engages the woodstick 180. This tab serves as a spacer to hold the crown at the properelevation above the natural keys 16. At the rear of the sharp keys 18 isformed a gripping portion 48 which, together with the sides of the key,engage the key stick 18a, firmly to be held in position thereon. Thesharp keys may be glued in place, or otherwise secured, as desired.Downwardly extended side wall tabs 50 are formed on each of the sharpkeys 18 to be positioned on each side of the milled groove 40 so as toform a channel therewith confining the guide member 30. That is, thetabs 50 may engage slightly with the sides of the guide member 30 duringup and down manipulation of the keys, and this arrangement preventslateral movement of the keys.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a sectional view of a natural key 16 is shown.The key 16 includes a downwardly turned front end 52 to form the frontexposed portion of the keys. As previously stated, the front end 52engages the felt pad 43 when the key 16 is depressed. Downwardly turnedside wall portions 54 engage opposite sides of an associated key stick16a, and the key may be glued in position, if desired. The plastic key16, when used in an electronic organ application, is of sufficientrigidity that the extended end thereof beyond its associated key stick16a is self-supporting. However, if

the keyboard arrangement is used in a piano, stiffening ribs may beprovided under the cap to ensure the proper rigidity. The end segment56, at the rear of the natural key 16, and the end segment 48, at therear of the sharp key 18, are provided to be inserted under a fasciaboard, not shown, which forms part of the musical instrument. In likemanner, the key 16 is provided with downwardly extended sidewall tabs 58which are in substantially the same position with respect to the frameas are the sidewall tabs 50 of the sharp keys 18. This provides uniformalignment of the channels formed by the tabs 50 and 58 and theassociated notch 40 in the key sticks so that they engage thelongitudinally aligned finger portions 28 and their associated guidemembers 30.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown an enlarged fragmentary view ofthe pivot-spacer 14, with the rib 32 thereof extending upwardly from therear rail 22. The rib 32 has a rounded upper end 60, preferablysemi-circular, engaging a tapered groove 62 formed in the underside ofthe key stick 18a, it being understood that each key stick 18a and 16aincludes a similar tapered slot. The tapered slot 62 is sufficientlywide at the bottom to allow free movement of the key stick about thecrown portion 60, without the key stick binding against or interferingwith the rib 32 to limit the free pivotal action of the key. The taperedslots 62 are provided sufficiently deep to substantially reduce theamount of torque about the longitudinal axes of the keys. That is, thedistance d between the pivot point and the top of the natural key, andthe distance d between the pivot point and the top of the sharp key ismade small to reduce the rotary torque that is exerted on the key whenmanipulated during playing.

What has been described is a simple and inexpensive keyboardconstruction which is readily manufactured with a minimum of componentsand which, being made of substantially wood construction, is lesssusceptible to noises produced by manipulation of the keys.

We claim:

1. A musical instrument keyboard assembly includ-' ing in combination:

a key receiving frame for receiving a plurality of musical instrumentnatural and sharp key means; guide means formed along a forward portionof said key receiving frame;

pivot-spacer means secured to said key receiving frame at a rearwardportion thereof, said pivotspacer means having discrete pivot portionsextending upwardly therefrom and longitudinally aligned, and furtherhaving a plurality of stationary spacer portions extending upwardly withconfining surfaces on opposite sides of said discrete pivot portions;and

a plurality of discrete elongated key means positioned on said keyreceiving frame to form an instrument keyboard, each key means beingpositioned between adjacent ones of said plurality of spacer portionsand having a pair of side surfaces cooperating with said confiningsurfaces of said spacer portions on opposite sides thereof to hold suchkey means against rotation, each key means having a transverse notchrearwardly thereof to receive an appropriate one of said discrete pivotportions for pivotal movement thereon and a forward portion engagingsaid guide means for proper alignment,

said spacer portions having a dimension in the direction of saidelongated key means which is greater than that of said pivot portions.

2. A musical instrument keyboard assembly in accordance with claim 1wherein the portion of each of said key means adjacent said plurality ofspacer portions of said pivot-spacer means has a rectangularcross-section, and said spacer portions have an upward extent greaterthan one-half the height of said key means.

3. The musical instrumentkeyboard assembly of claim 1 wherein saiddiscrete pivot portions and said plurality of spacer portions are formedas a single molded unit.

4. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 1 wherein said keyreceiving frame has a longitudinal slot formed in the rear portionthereof, and wherein said discrete pivot portions and said plurality ofspacer portions are formed as a single molded unit having a downwardlyextending portion fitting into said longitudinal slot and an upwardlyextending portion forming said discrete pivot portions.

5. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 1 including channelmeans formed near the forward end of each key means to engage said guidemeans to limit the upward and downward movement of i said key meansduring manipulation thereof.

6. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 5 wherein saidguide means includes longitu dinally spaced apart portions, said keymeans includes natural keys and sharp keys, and said channel means ofboth said natural keys and said sharp keys are in longitudinal alignmentalong said key frame to engage respective ones of said longitudinallyspaced apart portions of said guide means.

7. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 5 wherein each ofsaid plurality of elongated key means is formed of an elongated keystick, and a key cap having integral top and downwardly extendingportions firmly to receive the forward endof its associated key stick,said key stick and said downwardly extending portions being shaped toform said channel means to receive a respective one of said guide means.

8. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 7 wherein saidforward end of each of said key sticks has a cut-out portion andsaiddownwardly extended portions of corresponding ones .of said key capshave further extended portions adjacent said cut-out portion of said keystick to cooperate therewith to form said channel means and confine therespective associated ones of said guide means within said channel.

9. In a musical instrument keyboard assembly, the

combination including:

a key frame having forward and rearward portions for receiving aplurality of piano-like natural and sharp keys, said natural keysterminating near the forward portion of said key frame and said sharpkeys terminating at an intermediate location between said forward andrearward portions;

pivot means extending upwardly from said key frame at said rearwardportion and longitudinally aligned therealong to receive said pluralityof piano-like natural and sharp keys;

guide means including a plurality of upwardly extending and rearwardlyturned guide fingers positioned at said intermediate location;

a key stick for each of said plurality of piano-like natural and sharpkeys, each key stick having means engagable with said pivot means and acutout at the forward end of said key stick to receive a correspondingone of said guide fingers; and

a key cap positioned over each of said key sticks and having a portioncooperable with said cut-out therein to form a channel to confine saidguide finger.

10. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 9 wherein said keycap includes downwardly extending portions on each side thereof tocooperate with said cut-out on the associated one of said key sticks toconfine the associated one of said guide fingers.

11. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 10 wherein atleast one of said downwardly extending portions forms a sidewall of saidkey cap.

12. A musical instrument keyboard assembly, including in combination:

a hardwood frame structure including hardwood forward and rearward railsspaced apart and a plurality of wooden slats secured to said rails andholding the same in fixed relation to one another;

a comb-like guide member secured to the forward rail and havingrearwardly turned finger portions in longitudinal alignment one with theother and extending along the forward rail at spaced apart locations;

a resilient guide member positioned on each of said finger portions;

a pivot-spacer member of integral molded plastic construction secured tothe rearward rail and having spaced portions forming a plurality ofdiscrete pivot portions in longitudinal alignment one with the other andalong the rearward rail, and a plurality of spacer portions extendingupwardly on opposite sides of said discrete pivot'portions;

a plurality of key sticks, one for each of a plurality of natural keysand one for each of a plurality of sharp keys, each key stick havingmeans engag able with said discrete pivot portions and confined betweena corresponding pair of said spacer portions, and a cut-out formed atthe forward end of each of said key sticks for receiving a correspondingone of said resilient guide members on said finger portions, said spacerportion having an upward extent which is greater than one-half theheight of the key sticks positioned therebetween; and v a key cappositioned over each of said key sticks and having downwardly extendingportions cooperable with said cut-out to confine said resilient guidemember, thereby guiding said key stick and its associated key cap duringmanipulation thereof.

1. A musical instrument keyboard assembly including in combination: akey receiving frame for receiving a plurality of musical instrumentnatural and sharp key means; guide means formed along a forward portionof said key receiving frame; pivot-spacer means secured to said keyreceiving frame at a rearward portion thereof, said pivot-spacer meanshaving discrete pivot portions extending upwardly therefrom andlongitudinally aligned, and further having a plurality of stationaryspacer portions extending upwardly with confining surfaces on oppositesides of said discrete pivot portions; and a plurality of discreteelongated key means positioned on said key receiving frame to form aninstrument keyboard, each key means being positioned between adjacentones of said plurality of spacer portions and having a pair of sidesurfaces cooperating with said confining surfaces of said spacerportions on opposite sides thereof to hold such key means againstrotation, each key means having a transverse notch rearwardly thereof toreceive an appropriate one of said discrete pivot portions for pivotalmovement thereon and a forward portion engaging said guide means forproper alignment, said spacer portions having a dimension in thedirection of said elongated key means which is greater than that of saidpivot portions.
 2. A musical instrument keyboard assembly in accordancewith claim 1 wherein the portion of each of said key means adjacent saidplurality of spacer portions of said pivot-spacer means has arectangular cross-section, and said spacer portions have an upwardextent greater than one-half the height of said key means.
 3. Themusical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 1 wherein said discretepivot portions and said plurality of spacer portions are formed as asingle molded unit.
 4. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim1 wherein said key receiving frame has a longitudinal slot formed in therear portion thereof, and wherein said discrete pivot portions and saidplurality of spacer portions are formed as a single molded unit having adownwardly extending portion fitting into said longitudinal slot and anupwardly extending portion forming said discrete pivot portions.
 5. Themusical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 1 including channel meansformed near the forward end of each key means to engage said guide meansto limit the upward and downward movement of said key means duringmanipulation thereof.
 6. The musical instrument keyboard assembly ofclaim 5 wherein said guide means includes longitudinally spaced apartportions, said key means includes natural keys and sharp keys, and saidchannel means of both said natural keys and said sharp keys are inlongitudinal alignment along said key frame to engage respective ones ofsaid longitudinally spaced apart portions of said guide means.
 7. Themusical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 5 wherein each of saidplurality of elongated key means is formed of an elongated key stick,and a key cap having integral top and downwardly extending portionsfirmly to receive the forward end of its associated key stick, said keystick and said downwardly extending portions being shaped to form saidchannel means to receive a respective one of said guide means.
 8. Themusical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 7 wherein said forward endof each of said key sticks has a cut-out portion and said downwardlyextended portiOns of corresponding ones of said key caps have furtherextended portions adjacent said cut-out portion of said key stick tocooperate therewith to form said channel means and confine therespective associated ones of said guide means within said channel. 9.In a musical instrument keyboard assembly, the combination including: akey frame having forward and rearward portions for receiving a pluralityof piano-like natural and sharp keys, said natural keys terminating nearthe forward portion of said key frame and said sharp keys terminating atan intermediate location between said forward and rearward portions;pivot means extending upwardly from said key frame at said rearwardportion and longitudinally aligned therealong to receive said pluralityof piano-like natural and sharp keys; guide means including a pluralityof upwardly extending and rearwardly turned guide fingers positioned atsaid intermediate location; a key stick for each of said plurality ofpiano-like natural and sharp keys, each key stick having means engagablewith said pivot means and a cut-out at the forward end of said key stickto receive a corresponding one of said guide fingers; and a key cappositioned over each of said key sticks and having a portion cooperablewith said cut-out therein to form a channel to confine said guidefinger.
 10. The musical instrument keyboard assembly of claim 9 whereinsaid key cap includes downwardly extending portions on each side thereofto cooperate with said cut-out on the associated one of said key sticksto confine the associated one of said guide fingers.
 11. The musicalinstrument keyboard assembly of claim 10 wherein at least one of saiddownwardly extending portions forms a sidewall of said key cap.
 12. Amusical instrument keyboard assembly, including in combination: ahardwood frame structure including hardwood forward and rearward railsspaced apart and a plurality of wooden slats secured to said rails andholding the same in fixed relation to one another; a comb-like guidemember secured to the forward rail and having rearwardly turned fingerportions in longitudinal alignment one with the other and extendingalong the forward rail at spaced apart locations; a resilient guidemember positioned on each of said finger portions; a pivot-spacer memberof integral molded plastic construction secured to the rearward rail andhaving spaced portions forming a plurality of discrete pivot portions inlongitudinal alignment one with the other and along the rearward rail,and a plurality of spacer portions extending upwardly on opposite sidesof said discrete pivot portions; a plurality of key sticks, one for eachof a plurality of natural keys and one for each of a plurality of sharpkeys, each key stick having means engagable with said discrete pivotportions and confined between a corresponding pair of said spacerportions, and a cut-out formed at the forward end of each of said keysticks for receiving a corresponding one of said resilient guide memberson said finger portions, said spacer portion having an upward extentwhich is greater than one-half the height of the key sticks positionedtherebetween; and a key cap positioned over each of said key sticks andhaving downwardly extending portions cooperable with said cut-out toconfine said resilient guide member, thereby guiding said key stick andits associated key cap during manipulation thereof.